Unpopular opinion: I stopped using a lift bag on shallow salvage jobs and it's been better

Everyone says you need a bag for anything over 50 lbs, but on a recent job in Tampa Bay recovering some old dock hardware in 25 feet, we just used a simple rope and pulley rigged to the boat. We got the 200 lb piece up in half the time without fighting bag inflation or drift. Has anyone else ditched the bag for shallow, straightforward lifts?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren63811d ago

Sounds like you got lucky with calm conditions and easy rigging. A lift bag gives you a controlled, slow ascent which is way safer for both the diver and the gear on a crowded bottom. That rope method is just asking for a sudden snap or a piece to swing up and hit someone.

wesley_jones10d ago

My buddy once lost a whole outboard motor trying to haul it up with a rope.

paigep8510d ago

So when you say pulley rigged to the boat, are you talking about a simple block on a cleat or did you have an actual winch setup? I'm trying to picture how you kept tension without it just being a straight, risky haul.